What We Do

Developing strategies designed to increase agency and program effectiveness.

What We Do

The National Criminal Justice Association has extensive experience in providing assistance to federal, state, local and tribal justice agencies to identify barriers and develop strategies to increase the effectiveness of criminal justice agencies and programs. We offer training and technical assistance in strategic planning and strategy implementation, stakeholder engagement, grants management and administration, data access and information sharing. We also host events that bring together policymakers, practitioners, experts and advocates; promote programs from around the country; and engage in many legislative issues.

Strategic Planning and Strategy Implementation

The National Criminal Justice Association, with funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, offers training and technical assistance to SAAs to support your strategic planning efforts and the implementation of evidence-based policies and practices. This TTA is designed to help states meet the 2019 Byrne Justice Assistance Grant requirement of a comprehensive statewide strategic plan. TTA will be delivered in a variety of ways to best meet your needs; including onsite facilitation, phone/email contact, web based learning, regional trainings, and personalized support. In addition, NCJA will be providing grants management training, mentoring and leadership development to our SAA partners.

Federal Grants Management and Administration

Accounting for funding provided by federal agencies as well as from other sources undergirds effective resource management. One wrong move can put your entire program at risk. Our training and technical assistance supports recipients of funding from public and private entities to fulfill the requirements attached to this support.

Data Access and Justice Information Sharing

Data is essential to determining which problems to tackle, to choose which initiatives to fund, and to measure how well programs are working. But do you have the data you need? If not, who does and will they share? How do we know if the data are telling us what we need to know? And how in the world do we pay for the analysis? We can help assess your data needs and find solutions to enhance public safety and maximize investments.

Convening Policymakers, Practitioners, Experts and Advocates

Crime prevention and suppression programs will only be fully effective when all parts of the criminal justice system are operating seamlessly and in balance. With the goal of bringing balance to state and local criminal justice systems, NCJA regularly convenes policymakers, practitioners, experts and advocates to discuss issues of common interest and concern. In addition to the National Forum on Criminal Justice, the NCJA also hosts webinars, regional seminars, issue-specific working groups and focus groups, monthly meetings of government affairs specialists (the "Brown Baggers"), a roundtable of executive directors from stakeholder groups, and online communities.

The National Forum on Criminal Justice

The National Forum on Criminal Justice is the only criminal justice conference that brings together leaders from federal, state, local and tribal government and the public and private sector to share real world strategies and solutions from around the country. Sponsored by the NCJA, the Justice Research and Statistics Association and the IJIS Institute, our annual conference showcases programs, research and technologies that help justice practitioners and decision makers in states, local communities and tribal nations address pressing public safety issues.

Connect2Justice

Connect2Justice (C2J) is an online community where NCJA members and employees of member agencies can ask questions, share ideas, network with colleagues, and conduct committee business. You will also find a regularly-updated library of criminal justice-related funding and a calendar of events for justice professionals hosted around the country. The C2J website contains discussion forums, shared libraries, an events calendars, a searchable member directory, and a library of funding solicitations, known as Connect2Grants.

Spotlighting Promising Programs

Outstanding Criminal Justice Program Awards

Each year at the National Forum on Criminal Justice, NCJA honors five outstanding criminal justice programs that showcase successful promising practices in criminal justice. Award winners represent one of five regions - the Northeast, South, Midwest, West and Tribal regions. Programs are selected based on the following criteria: whether the program addresses important criminal justice issues, demonstrates collaboration among criminal justice, provides quantitative evidence of its effectiveness in accomplishing program goals; leverages federal, state, local, or other non-governmental funds and resources; and can easily replicated in other jurisdictions. Learn more about nominating programs, the selection process, and past OCJP award winners.

Innovative Addiction Programs

In January 2017, the Addiction Policy Forum, in partnership with the NCJA, launched the Focus on Innovation initiative to highlight innovative and exemplary programs addressing addiction in the fields of prevention, treatment, recovery support, overdose reversal, criminal justice reform and law enforcement strategies. Many states and communities have made great strides in addressing substance use disorders by developing innovative programs and projects that draw upon the latest research and evidence-based practices. The Focus on Innovation initiative was developed to showcase these programs as models for testing and replication across the country. View profiles of selected programs.

Promising Practices

The NCJA Promising Practices Series explores practices across the criminal justice arena. By examining not only how programs, technologies and initiatives were created, but also how they have succeeded, we hope to provide readers with a more in-depth understanding of how communities are using innovation to address identified needs. New programs are highlighted each month in our Justice Bulletin newsletter. See what programs have been covered in this series.

Advocating for Effective Criminal Justice Policy

Key Issues and Legislation

The NCJA advocates for effective criminal justice policy and funding for state, local, and tribal justice assistance programs. Because our members are engaged across all aspects of the criminal justice system, we engage in a wide range of policy issues in Washington, DC on our members’ behalf. The NCJA staff supports our members by providing up-to-the-minute information about pending legislation and the federal appropriations process and by communicating with federal officials on Capitol Hill and in the Administration about how federal policy affects the delivery of services to the field. Recognizing that little gets done in Washington, DC by acting alone, the NCJA works in coalition with dozens of other stakeholder organizations which share common interests and policy goals.Visit our Policy section to learn more about current legislation and key issues.

Educating Congress and Tracking Spending

In the Congressional Affairs section (available to NCJA members only), we provide a wealth of information about the congressional appropriations process, legislation NCJA is monitoring, a toolkit for engaging with your congressional delegations, template letters for you and your stakeholders to use, and examples of past NCJA and grantee letters. We hope these resources will be helpful to you as you educate members of Congress, other policymakers, and your stakeholder community about the impact of the federal justice assistance programs in your communities.

This section also contains our regularly-updated Justice Assistance Table, which tracks funding for the state and local justice assistance, homeland security, and substance abuse treatment grant programs, and the Status of Pending Legislation chart, which tracks bills moving through Congress that impact state, local and tribal criminal justice policy. Organized by topic, the chart includes appropriations bills and legislation on general justice assistance, victims issues, juvenile delinquency and gang prevention, law enforcement, courts, sentencing and prison reform, corrections and reentry, and homeland security.